Terps Talk: Thoughts After Week 2

The University of Maryland is 2-0 entering their game Saturday (Noon, Big Ten Network) at home vs. West Virginia.

Below BSL’s Zack Kiesel and Chris Stoner trade a few thoughts on the Terps.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

1) Not a pretty win by any stretch of the imagination, but a win nonetheless. Turning the ball over six times in one game is unacceptable, but they found a way to win. Overcoming adversity and leaving a road venue with a win is never easy, but the Terps accomplished that against South Florida. Did this game change your expectations for the season in any way?

Kiesel: This Maryland team is too talented to play like that week in and week out. I fully believe that this was a one-time bad game, and they’ll rebound and have a good season. A good win over West Virginia will bring everyone’s spirits up and help us forget about the 6 turnovers. This wasn’t a case of USF being better than the Terps. This was a case of Maryland beating themselves. The USF offense scored zero points off of the 5 turnovers they were given a chance to have possessions after. I suppose this is a positive, as it may have been worse if this had been a clean game and the Terps had only won by 7. The bottom line is that they were able to pull out a win. Some teams would have gone into their shell and lost a game like this, but Maryland kept fighting and were able to squeak out with a win. A win is a win, forget how you did it, and move on to the Mountaineers.

Kiesel: I hold the opinion that this is simply a slow start for him, and that he’ll improve as the season goes on. He has too much talent to play like this for longer than a few games. His offensive line isn’t doing him any favors though, and not having defenders in his face all the time would likely result in some better play from him. I keep thinking to myself that, despite his lackluster play so far, he’s led the team to two victories. That has to count for something.

Stoner: Brown throws an ugly ball, has real limitations in going down the field, and won’t sniff an NFL invite. For everything going against Brown, he does have a skill-set capable of making plays in this offense. Hand-in-hand with that, the offense has been built with his strengths in-mind.

Brown has not played well the first 2 weeks. If he doesn’t play well again vs. WVU, I can see making a move.  Obviously Brown is not back next year. There are only so many games, and you need results. If Brown struggles through 3 weeks, without being able to get the skill position talent around him going – that forces the hand of everyone.

At the very minimum, you want to see a 6th year QB routinely make the right decisions.

3) Brandon Ross was benched after losing two fumbles against USF in favor of third-string running back Wes Brown. Brown was impressive, and led the team in carries and yards in the game. There’s three talented running backs on this team. So who do you think emerges as the eventual starter, and how do you see carries being split up against WVU?

Kiesel: We all know that Brown’s a powerful runner, but he showed some good agility outside of the tackles that we really hadn’t seen from him before. He seems to be running with confidence and understands his role in this offense. He also did well teaming up with C.J. Brown on two crucial third-down option pitches. With West Virginia looming, I believe that we’ll see Mike Locksley go with the hot hand in the backfield until one guy steps up and proves that he can be the every-down back for this team. I’m a Brandon Ross fan, but he can’t be back there if he can’t hold onto the ball.

Stoner: I never really bought the idea that Ross was going to be ‘the guy.’ I always thought each of the 3 RB’s would get opportunities this year, with Ross getting that first crack. I really liked Wes Brown two years ago, and liked what I saw Saturday. What did surprise me, was that the Coaching staff had made the point of saying Ross was their #1. If he’s your definitive #1, then you have to keep feeding him, even if he coughs it up a couple of times. From here on out, I think we see the carries split, and whoever is producing on a weekly basis will get more attempts.

4) The Maryland defense only allowed 10 points to the USF offense last week, with the other 7 points coming off of a fumble returned for a touchdown. They also allowed zero points off of the five turnovers that they had a chance to defend (again, the sixth being that fumble returned for a touchdown). How impressed have you been with this defense so far this season?

Kiesel: I’m really liking how this defense is built, and the depth is really paying off. Brian Stewart will be a very good head coach in this level someday, so I feel lucky to be able to watch him go to work as Maryland’s coordinator. The 2013 defense was often strong, and this defense seems to be back to that form.

Stoner: Dominating an FCS team, and being productive defensively against a Non-Power 5 Conference team who lost their starting QB early on does not impress me. The defense has done what they should have done so far given their level of experience, and the opponents they faced. I do think several individuals on the defensive side – particularly Davis at Safety, and Monroe up-front – are playing well.